Question for the Tech Savvy

[Belinda Barfield]

This is not a SHOULD it be done question, but a CAN it be done question. This thread is in no way intended to be political.

Why can't there be a new domain ".porn"? All of the porn sites could/would be registered there which would eliminate all of the "unintentional" viewing of porn sites.

Just curious.

[Ron Wessels]

Ok, let's suppose that I run a porn site. What incentive/benefit to I have to switch to a .porn domain? It means that, much more likely, customers will not be able to access my site (eg. workplace blockage of .porn domain sites), causing them to switch to another provider.

It also means that it's more likely that advertisements for my site will be blocked while surfing at the workplace, resulting in a loss of potential customers.

It's a benefit for people that do not partake of my services, and does not aid people that do partake of my services. Therefore, it makes no sense for me to switch.

Note: I do not run a porn site in real life.

[jeremy levine]

I think the creators of such sites would argue "rights" , "free speech" ,and/or "free trade". Also keep in mind that the internet is international so what passed for "ok" in "Country Z" might be thought of as porn in "Country A".

There are other tech issues but the above a the first non-tech issues that come to mind.

[Joe Pelonio]

There is no reason other than the one mentioned by Ron (less hits)
and I remember reading in the paper a few years ago that it has been proposed. There's no way to force it since they are on servers all over the world.

I'm glad my kids are all adults now. My wife works at an elementary school and once in a while and even with all the filters being used by the school district once in a while a kid ends up with something nasty on a school computer.

[Art Mulder]

This is not a SHOULD it be done question, but a CAN it be done question.

Belinda,
There is no technical reason whatsoever why this cannot be done.

The reasons are all political, or organizational, or greed-related, or afraid-of-the-voter reasons (both sides) and so on.

examples:
- government employee X (voted in or not) refuses to okay it since it can been seen as condoning porn.
- internet governing group X refuses to cooperate since they don't know how to police it - would they be expected to force people to join the domain?
- company X opposes it since they don't believe that what they are doing is porn
- civil liberty body X opposes it since it will allow people to "restrain free speech"
- foreign government X opposes it since it represents the US trying to enforce control of the internet, or enforce their values on the world.

[Belinda Barfield]

Thanks for all the great replies guys!

Silly me, I thought maybe the porn sites would want to be grouped together or something. Maybe there would be more traffic if they were "easier" to find. I guess that wouldn't make them any easier to find than they already are!

I do realize there is not way to police/enforce the net, but hadn't really thought about all the civil liberties issues that would arise.

Thanks again!

[Randal Stevenson]

Thanks for all the great replies guys!

Silly me, I thought maybe the porn sites would want to be grouped together or something. Maybe they would be more traffic if they were "easier" to find. I guess that wouldn't make them any easier to find than they already are!

I do realize there is not way to police/enforce the net, but hadn't really thought about all the civil liberties issues that would arise.

Thanks again!

They don't want to be grouped. How many businesses want to be on the same street, with all their competitors. (normally choose just one to build across from/ or over by).
They are already easy enough to find, between things like domain names (Whitehouse.GOV not COM), or even my MOTHER searching for collectibles, dealing with her favorite, childhood comic (her and dad were searching for Little Lulu).

[Belinda Barfield]

They don't want to be grouped. How many businesses want to be on the same street, with all their competitors. (normally choose just one to build across from/ or over by).

I didn't think of it as all of them being on the same street. Pretty much everyone else on web is on the same street - all the plumbing supply houses at .com, lumber yards at .com, etc, but I see your point.

Those sites are pretty easy to stumble across, aren't they? A number of years ago Honey and I owned a bar. We booked a lot of our bands through an agency (don't think I can mention the name here). Last year we were going to book a band for an event and Honey couldn't remember the agency's name. He thought he knew the name so he Googled that name. BOY, did he get a surprise. He started yelling "How do I clear the screen?!?!?! How do I clear the screen?!?!? I got a good chuckle, he was not amused.

[David G Baker]

Belinda,
There has been talk about creating a dot porn and forcing porn sites to the dot porn area. At some point this may very well happen depending on how much the public complains about the existing set up.
David B

[Belinda Barfield]

Thanks for your reply David. It seems like there should be some way to "child proof" these sites. I understand the argument that it is the responsibility of parents to police their children, but I worry about the kids who have no parental guidance.

[Jim Becker]

Counter question...how would you get any of the sites currently with .com or other top level domains to abandon them and move to a dedicated domain? There is just too much money involved in that industry, especially with established domains. Your answer can't be anything about legislation since the Internet is global and it's doubtful or impossible to legally force the issue, IMHO. (Trust me, I'm not suggesting that the dedicated domain is bad...to the contrary, I'd prefer it that way, if only to help take away the ambiguity that currently exists)

[Belinda Barfield]

Counter question...how would you get any of the sites currently with .com or other top level domains to abandon them and move to a dedicated domain? There is just too much money involved in that industry, especially with established domains. Your answer can't be anything about legislation since the Internet is global and it's doubtful or impossible to legally force the issue, IMHO. (Trust me, I'm not suggesting that the dedicated domain is bad...to the contrary, I'd prefer it that way, if only to help take away the ambiguity that currently exists)

Jim,

Thanks for the post. An answer to your question is what I am actually interested in. I just didn't post a question as well phrased as yours. I have absolutely no understanding of how the Net actually works, so I am seeking knowledge from you guys with the brain power.

[Mitchell Andrus]

How about getting Google to eliminate all links to porn sites.

I did a Google search for "gothic carvings" and got an eyeful of "gothic sex" sites.

The porn guys are seeding their sites with common terms so they'll pop up. Luckily my kids are older, but what about the 11 year olds???

I know... freedom of speech.

[Doug Shepard]

I'd have to change all my bookmarks to my favorite tool porn sites.

[Belinda Barfield]

How about getting Google to eliminate all links to porn sites.

I did a Google search for "gothic carvings" and got an eyeful of "gothic sex" sites.

The porn guys are seeding their sites with common terms so they'll pop up. Luckily my kids are older, but what about the 11 year olds???

I know... freedom of speech.

It is amazing how the most innocent of searchs can yield such interesting results isn't it? Sometime you just gotta' close those eyes!